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To celebrate our 30th birthday we are talking to past and present students about how Prace has helped redirect their careers and lives.
This is Santosh’s story.
When Santosh arrived in Australia from India in 2008, she didn’t speak much English and had lost a lot of self-confidence. Prace’s English classes helped her to win back her confidence and pursue work in customer service and management roles. She is now owner of her own business – a long-held dream.
Read more about Santosh’s learning journey below.
“I was passionate about working in customer service, and I knew I would be good at it, but my English skills weren’t high which made communication hard, especially when people made fun of my accent.
“I enrolled in a basic English course at Prace and I started to get my confidence back. I felt that Prace was my first family in Australia because it was so welcoming and no one ever shamed me about my English.
“Each day I looked forward to going to Prace to study because I was happy and I felt comfortable and safe there. I made friends with other students, especially Moira who is still one of my close friends even though we live a long way apart now.
“Ancy and Deb were fantastic teachers. I quickly gained my confidence back and I was ready to tackle a customer service course,” added Santosh.
After completing her Certificate II in Retail Operations Santosh took on the role of Assistant Manager at KFC. She stayed with the company for two years, during which time she gained her Certificate III in Retail Operations. This led her to a position at Woolworths.
“I started as a service operator on the checkouts before being promoted to Customer Service Manager. I really enjoyed working for Woolworths and stayed there for 11 years,” said Santosh.
After Woolworths, Santosh took on a role as Payroll Officer and Customer Service Agent for United Airlines at Melbourne Airport.
“It was quite an intense role, but the course at Prace had been very thorough, so I was easily able to adapt to the different roles,” she said.
Santosh also completed her Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate at Prace.
“Prace is my first port of call if I need a course!” she said.
Five months ago Santosh fulfilled a long-held dream and bought a motel in Bordertown, South Australia.
“It is going very well and I’m really proud of where I started from and where I am today. Prace was the first step and enrolling there gave me the confidence and foundation to start on this journey.
“My motel is called ‘105 on The Park’ and I would be happy to offer any Prace staff or students a 5% discount if they are ever in Bordertown”.
– Santosh
Find out more about our English classes and embark on a new career today!
